NEW YORK—In response to President Trump’s latest tweet depicting him attacking an individual whose head has been replaced by the CNN logo, PEN America Executive Director Suzanne Nossel released the following statement:

“While we have grown sadly accustomed to Donald Trump’s vicious, ill-informed and sometimes lewd attacks on journalists and the media, the posting—by the President of the United States—of a video depicting Donald Trump tackling and punching an individual whose head has been replaced with the CNN logo marks a new low. With this latest posting, it’s impossible to conclude anything other than that the President is valorizing and modeling brutal physical attacks on journalists. Even in the world’s worst authoritarian regimes, leaders tend to mask their assaults on journalists by working through anonymous thugs or under cover of night. Donald Trump seems to feel no such compunction. His brazen approbation of violence is unprecedented by the President of the United States and signals a dangerous assault on the public’s right to know and on the role of the media in vindicating that right.”

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PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.

CONTACT: Anoosh Gasparian, External Relations Coordinator: [email protected], +1 646.779.0685